A Little Bit o’ Everything

Well, there is none. There probably won’t be any until the end of February 2015, and the news could be yes, that Paramount wants to make the movie, or no, that Paramount doesn’t want to make the movie, or the news could be that no decision has been made (crazy business, right?). And like you, I hope if they do make the movie that they will do a great job with it. When I hear anything, I will announce it here first, so put a note on your calendar to check this blog then!

2. Public Event News

My travel schedule for the upcoming school year is quickly filling up, but in most destinations, I won’t have any public events, only school visits. However, you can always check my events page here to find out if I’m coming near you. And if you want me to come near you, and you’re a kid-type, talk to your school or city librarian, or your indie bookstore. If you’re an adult-type, click the link here to find out how to bring me in for a visit.

I do have some public events coming up this fall in Salt Lake City, Pleasant Grove, Brigham City, Omaha Nebraska, and Las Vegas. Click here for details!

3. Writing Update

Things are a little crazy right now, but all for wonderful reasons! I’m getting some promotional stuffready for the release of MARK OF THE THIEF on February 24, 2015. I am so excited for this book and am about 30,000 words into book 2 of that series (Nic’s in a bit of trouble at the moment, so I really need to get to that next chapter).

I am also about to start edits for A NIGHT DIVIDED, which will come out in fall 2015. This one, about a family split by the Berlin Wall in Cold War Germany, is going to be different from what you’ve seen from me before, but I have a lot of passion for this project.

And then, maybe some other super secret stuff. Shhh… 😉

4. Fan Stuff

This is some fan art or student work that was sent to me. Really impressive stuff.

This fan art of Sage and Imogen was created by Lemuel – thank you so much! It’s very well done!

I honestly don’t know who created this – I found it on Pinterest – but it made me smile! If you’re reading this blog and want to take credit, then I loved it!

Here is a bulletin board put up by an elementary classroom in Oregon. They found pictures or objects for the various scenes and mapped them out. Thanks, Mrs. Simonson!

213 Comments

RebeccaAugust 17, 2014

That’s so cool! But when I went to the website for the vegas valley book fest and looked at who’s coming, I didn’t see you. 🙁

Hey Miss Jen!! You are such an inspiration for me and other young writers everywhere!! You know what would be cool? A spin off book for The Acendance Trilogy about Tobias and Amarinda (from either of their povs) because they’re great characters and we could use more story on their development (like Tobias figuring out his worth) and plus, their relationship seemed a bit sudden. But most of all, keep being awesome!

Oh my gosh that pinterest Jaron thing literally made me laugh out loud! AND I AM DYING FOR THE MARK OF THE THEIF IT LOOKS SO AMAZING!!!!! It’s my most anticipated book of 2015!!!!!!!!! You are my favorite author and I’m so excited to read more books from you! AND THANK YOU FOR RELEASING TWO BOOKS IN ONE YEAR SO I DON’T HAVE TO WAIT AN ENTIRE YEAR FOR ANOTHER BOOK BY YOU, YOU ARE THE BEST 🙂 Btw Whenever I don’t feel like reading anything or and feeling 🙁 I pull out an Ascendance Trilogy book and flip to one of my favorite scenes.

I think that Ur a amazing author! I will talk to my local library if u can pay a visit here in toronto 😉 I am 150% sure that no one can deny ur books and that there will be a movie because every one has hope i myself pray for this book to become a movie 🙂

You know, I’ve never thought much of it but- Everyone does want to kill Sage/Jaron :O
You know, they probably could have if they all just realized they wanted him dead, banded together- nah, They can build armies by millions, and Sage/Jaron would still win…
I mean, look at him and his team, that’s better than A-Team! 😛

Hey, I haven’t been on this site in a long time! i have just been looking out for the movie because it would be awesome to audition. One side question real quick, DO YOU REMEMBER ME? Okay? okay. << didn't even mean to make a The Fault In Our Stars reference there…. And yes, I did read that book! It was amazing but nothing like the Ascendance Trilogy =^_^= Anyway, I still talk about your books ALL THE TIME! I had no clue about you writing another or another series. Also, I'm a bit confused as to what the books are, are you writing another series? I'm confused haha, What is Mark Of The Thief? If I can I'll surely order it and read it and probably start freaking out because it's amazing and stuff just like the trilogy… Anyway hope you are well and have a nice day! Bye!

I absolutely love reading books especially about characters that seem so real, You know if randomly i found this magical lamp with a wish i would wish that Jaron were real that would be a dream come true 😉 My class this year has a book recommending chart I recommended the false prince

Thank you, Namitha! I hope they’ll make the movie too! No new books are currently planned for Jaron, though it could always change down the road! Right now I’m in the middle of a new trilogy, MARK OF THE THIEF, which I’m just as excited about!

Hi Miss Nielsen!
My school library got the False Prince and has ordered The Runaway King ! I’m so happy! I’m getting ALL my friends to read it 😀
The Pinterest is hilarious!!! One of my favourite Ascendance Trilogy quotes is “I could only hope they gave me a chance to speak before they killed me. Although as I thought about it, it was usually after I began speaking that people felt like murdering me.”
Jaron has got to be the wittiest character I have ever read ! Although he has a lot of enemies ;
“I’ll use it to beg the devils to curse you”
“Get in line; do you think you’re the first?”
…he also has a great ability to turn his enemies into allies/friends.
For example:Roden,Mott,Tobias,Kippenger,pirates,Conner,Mendenwal etcetcetc
Cara

Hi. I want to do some fan art and i was hoping you could give me a description of the main characters/villains, from an author’s point of view. Could you tell me he following about the characters?
1) eye color
2) hair color
3) height
4) hair length
5) Build (guys only)
Thank you! 🙂

Those are very cool, Lilly! You’ve got a very creative mind and a lot of the quotes you pulled out and actors you featured are among my favorites! Thank you for doing so much great work for this series, and for sharing it with me!

hello ms Nielsen i absolutely positively love Ur books there the best in the world! I really love them, So i had a history project on king Louis the 14 and it said that king Louis was king at a really young age and that no one believed that he could take france in his hands this sentance reminded me of jaron! It is pretty cool that i can make so many connections with this book because it seems so very real!:)

OH hi ms Jennifer My friend from america came to India where i live and let me reed his book the false prince 😉 i really like it and i want to read the second book and looked for it in Mumbai libraries but i can’t find!? I need that book but it no where in India i can possibly do any thing to get my sweaty little fingers on that book 🙁 but i can’t find is there any in India that u know of???

Thank you very much! I’m so glad you liked The False Prince! The best thing you can do is to ask your librarian to get you a copy. The book has not been translated into Hindi, but they should be able to get copies in English, perhaps through the UK. Good luck (and tell your friend thank you for me)!

The ascendance trilogy is so emotional like at some parts of the book i literally felt like crying my eyes out and at some parts the book made me smile 🙂 And I absolutely love the ending (not going to spoil it) I really love your books EACH AND EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM 🙂 I just can’t wait till the mark of the thief comes out! But i need to be patient 😉

Ms. Jennifer Its amazing that u always reply to every ones posts the very next day. How do you possibly schedule your time? Like your writing two books and then u have this blog to check out and probably many other things to do. Look at me with only a few things to do and i get all stressed out thinking about homework. Seems like u r a very organized person 😉

I absolutely Love your work and i have no Idea why people want a fourth book to the ascendance trilogy I think personally that the mark of the thief might be even better than the ascendance trilogy 🙂 So the people out there who want a 4 book hold your horses because a new series is about to start 🙂 Just can’t wait 😉 and thank you for everthing

Hi Miss Nielsen, if you don’t mind, I have a quick question.
In the books Jaron’s full name is Jaron Artolius Eckbert III, right? But his dad was also called King Eckbert. So I’m wondering, is Eckbert their last name, or is Jaron just named after his dad?
Thanks

Hi Leo! A lot of royals don’t work with last names (the British royal family chose Windsor, but don’t really use it much unless to say they are from the “House of Windsor.”) So Jaron has his first name, his second name is from a distant grandfather, and his third name is from his father, who would be Eckbert II. Jaron would be from the House of Artolius, but doesn’t need to reference that and doesn’t consider it a last name, simply because he doesn’t need to.

Let me first say how highly you sit on a positive throne in my mind of authors. I was first searching around to find any news of a movie, because every second after I finished the first chapter of the first book, my mind was racing with ides. This is probably going to sound strange, and cheesy, but I’ve been trying to start acting, the idea of creating movies gravitates my imagination, so just the thought of this amazing story being displayed makes my stomach turn with excitment! I’m about the age of your characters, so relating in a way I’ll never be able to relate to them is unexplainable. Thank you for writing this story.

Thanks so much, Madison! I should probably know in late February whether Paramount wants to make a movie. If they decide to make it, then I’ll post audition information on my website. I hope they’ll give everyday kids a chance to try for the movie!

OMG!!! I love your books.I’m so excited that there might be a movie about The Ascendance Trilogy. (Did I spell that right) I would like if you could come to my school but i dunno if you could but if you could that would be great but I might die if you did because id be so excited. I hope you will answer me. Byesssss

OMG I love love love your books! I’ve read and re read them tons of times! I really hope they make a movie about it and that they don’t change the story! You should look at some of the cast member from Once Upon a Time maybe for Sage/Jaron… It’s just my opinion, but I think some of them could work…

Thank you, Maddy! If they decide to make a movie, the casting won’t be up to me, but I”m sure those who are in charge of it will do a great job. Once Upon a Time certainly has a lot of great actors, you’re right!

Mrs. Nielson I really, really, really want to try out for the part of Sage I have been practicing using both my hands and my knuckle roll but I am a girl. Do I still have a shot? And could I audition over a video tape? Thanks! I really love your books they are really original!

Well…before I can answer any of those questions, Paramount will have to decide whether to make the movie (fingers crossed)! If they do, then the decision on casting will be made by them. I probably won’t have any say in any part of their decision making, or how people can audition. BUT, whatever I find out about auditions, I will post here to my blog, and if you get a chance to audition, then I wish you the best of luck!

I’ve seen lots of books before CUZ my older sister is a reader, but not once has a book interested me so much. I stayed up for four hours finishing it in 2 days cuz I couldn’t hold the suspense.
I really motivate that there should be a movie because it’s a wonderfull book and has a great theme.
I honestly am dying to here the news “The false prince movie” coming soon to theatre.
Thank u so much for making a wonderful book 🙂 just started the second one.

I hope you find the third book soon, Hannah. There’s no fourth book in the series (maybe one day – who knows?). Books similar to this series…um, you could look at The Ranger’s Apprentice. The Michael Vey series has a similar sort of humor, though it’s modern day and has a very different plot. And One For the Murphy’s by Lynda Mullaly Hunt has a really different plot, but the main character in that book, Carly, is very similar to Sage.

I absolutely love the Ascendance Trilogy! My favorite out of the three of them is the ‘False Prince’. To be completely honest, ‘The False Prince’ is probably my favorite book ever! I loved the suspense and could not put the book down. I finished the trilogy within a few weeks. Another book I also really like is Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. Have you read it?

Just this January, I was out to eat with my dad for his birthday. At the table, I mentioned how much I liked ‘The False Prince’ book. He asked if he should read it, and I said absolutley! I said to him that I would also like to see it be made into a movie. On the car ride home, I immediately searched for ‘The False Prince’ movie news, and I found your website. As soon as I saw it might be made into a movie, I grew very excited. I did a lot more research, and found out that there would be news at the end of February! I am keeping my fingers crossed that they do make a movie, and am counting the days until the end of February. If they do make a movie based on ‘The False Prince’, are you scared that they will not do as good a job as you were expecting? I would be nervous if I were in you shoes, because whether we like it or not, people do judge books by their movies.

I am also very excited for you new book to come out! I love the idea of magic, and I often have very vivid dreams about it. I once had a dream that my friend and I were in the Game of Thrones, which was pretty scary.

Finally, how do you get the ideas for your books, characters, ect.?

Thank you for taking the time to read this, and I am looking forward to a response!

Thanks for your note, Kate. I’m so glad that you enjoyed these books. I read Fahrenheit 451 when I was a teenager and absolutely loved it. Ray Bradbury did some short stories as well that still influence me today. And I’m glad you’re looking forward to the release of MARK OF THE THIEF – I am too!

I think if Paramount makes the movie, then I will definitely hope they do a great job. But they are a good studio, so I’ll look forward to watching the process unfold.

For me, story ideas come from all sorts of places: music, the news, little facts I pick up here and there, pictures, passing comments, or sometimes from absolutely nowhere. I think the way to get ideas is just to keep your eyes open for them and then they just start to come.

Mrs. Nielsen I have to know so I can complete my vision of how Sage is in the book. What is the Avenian and Carthrayan accent sound like and how do you pronouce Veldegrath’s name? Final question how do you pronounce Avenia and Carthraya? Thanks for reading and creating an awesome book.

The Carthyan accent would be close to British. The Avenian would be closer to the Telmarine people from the movie, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian. Veldegrath would be Vel- (rhymes with smell) de- (duh) graph (wrath). Avenia is Uh-vee-nee-uh. Carthya is Carth -ee – uh. I hope that’s helpful!

My whole Family loves the Ascendancy Trilogy. My favorite books ever! And that’s saying something. I really love that they are so clean. Please Please, if they make them into a movie,(which would be awesome), have it be clean!PG?

Mrs. Nielsen I want to know what Jaron was like before the pirates I know you mentioned it in the book but could you right some stories of what he was like as a little kid. What were Eckbert, Erin, and Daruis like? Can you write some stories about them too please? That would be really cool. Thanks!

I may write some of those stories one day. Jason had less anger before, though life in an orphanage also taught him a lot about the real world. Eckbert was very serious-natured, very concerned about looking like a good king. Darius was a really good guy, but also pretty cautious, as his father had taught him to be. Erin loved to play. She had a great sense of humor and was very artistic. Jason was more like her than his father. On the audio book for The False Prince, there is a short story that describes when Jaron stabbed the King of Mendenwal and how he got his sword. That’s the only story I’ve written so far of what happened before the pirates. Thanks for asking, Shadow!

You recently said that “On the audio book for The False Prince, there is a short story that describes when Jaron stabbed the King of Mendenwal and how he got his sword. That’s the only story I’ve written so far of what happened before the pirates.” Is there any way I could get that for free?

Shadow, if you study the way family crests are made, I’d bet you could pick out the right symbols for him. The colors of Carthya are blue and gold. Jason’s full name is Jaron Artolius Eckbert III – consistent with most royalty, he doesn’t really have a “last” name, but rather, a “house” with which he is associated (the house of Eckbert). No word yet on a movie for another couple of weeks, but whatever Paramount decides, I’ll post the news first here!

Maya, if a movie is made, that decision will be up to the casting director. However, even if they don’t feel you’re right for the part of Sage, they may like you in another role. That sort of things happens all the time in Hollywood. Since you can’t control whether you’re a boy or girl, or what a casting director might want, or even if the casting director is willing to audition kids outside of Hollywood, all you need to focus is what you can control, which is being your personal best. One way or the other, I should have news to announce soon!

If they don’t make this into a movie, I will probably cry… Not even joking. This is probably the best book I’ve ever read, so thank you , Mrs. Nielsen!!! I love how you kept it clean but never left out the adventure! Finger crossed for the movie!!!

Hannah, one thing to keep in mind is that if they decide not to make the movie, then they probably weren’t the right studio for it anyway. So either way, it’ll be the right decision (though my fingers are crossed too!). Thanks for reading!

Oh I just had it written it all down on my phone but I guess it didn’t got submitted. I’m really looking forward to the third one, finally I got the second on my London trip with my family. It was so good and exciting I read it for two days, only at night. My dad will get the third with his kindle, I’m kind of sad that it’ll be so late. I don’t care who the cast is cause I don’t know them really well(HAHA) since I’m Korean. But I guess I have to admit that I’m really looking forward about the movie, I have told my family and friends that the book is so great even if they don’t know it. Plus there are so good K-pop songs that is similar to the scenes to the books, I think it made a good radio drama. Hahahahahaha
I’m so overwhelmed with it I think I fell in love with them. Oh just hope movies..

I’ve read the series several times now and I REALLY love it! I’m wondering though, why did you make Jaron left handed? Most books just make all their characters right handed by default. Also, any news on whether the movie will be made?

No movie news yet, Maddie. And Jaron is left-handed for a few reasons. One is that I’m a leftie, so that was my gift to him! 😉 The second is that it’s a more uncommon trait, so it helps identify him. And the third is that if his father forced him to train as a right-handed swordsman, Jaron would naturally emerge as a more gifted fighter, because he can fight with both hands. Most swordsmen can’t (except on The Princess Bride, of course).

Thank you! My dad finished it and my mom is currently reading it, and my brother, who is in 7th grade just finished reading it with is Literature class. My friends also really like it! When do you think you will get movie news?

Yay! I’m also a left, so when i found out i was like “HOORAY! FINALLY!” it’s annoying to be a lefty though. Either you have to become partially right handed, or suffer. Like, seriously, CAN OPENERS! The false prince is probably my favorite book partially because jaron’s a lefty! He’s more relatable

That’s funny, Maddie. I’m good on can openers (meh, for the most part), but it’s spiral notebooks that drive me crazy. I hate my hand always rubbing along the spine, or dragging across the ink as I write. #LeftieProblems

Some, I make up, just by combining the sounds of letters until I like the word. Some come from baby name books. A couple have meaning. Conner is because he’s a con-man. Jaron was the name of a kid I actually knew many years ago. He was such a cool person I used to think if we had royalty in this country, then he would be a prince. So when it came time to name the prince, it was always going to be Jaron.

Kate, I once knew a kid named Jaron, and thought he was such an awesome person that I did borrow his name for my own prince. But my Jaron has his own personality (which is a good thing – I’d feel sorry for any mom who would really have to raise this kid!).

So many questions, Maddie! Every book I write is a totally different experience, but I enjoy them for all different reasons. Some are harder than others, but I generally learn more too. For answers about the plot, check here and scroll about halfway down: http://jennielsen.com/faq

Cries, because even as someone who’s always wanted to be an actress, and whose favorite book series is the Ascendance Series, I am still too young to have hopes of even auditioning for the movie, if one is going to be made.
Darn you, age.

Yeah. I just really hope they give it the justice it deserves.
Also, I was thinking about scenery for where the books would take place so I could have more specific ways to imagine it. The False Prince and Shadow Throne being in france or england. Then for the Runway King, i was trying really hard to think of tarblade bay, but then i realized theres a beach here in Puerto Rico that is pretty much concealed by trees and bushes. I found tarblade bay!

I take a pottery class, and in it, I replicated the crown on the title page of the false Prince, and as soon as I got in the car with the finished, painted crown, it fell off my head and broke in THE EXACT SAME SPOT as the break on the cover!
(I glued it back)
I see it as an omen that they will make the movie…
Fingers crossed.

For Sage, you can go to this link: http://jualbacan.com/emile-hirsch-height/ and look at the first picture on the blog. It’s a young Emile Hirsch in a relaxed tux shirt. That’s pretty much the right expression for Sage too. The other characters are just as they are described in the books. I had pictures for all of them but can’t find links for them now, unfortunately.

Mrs. Nielsen, I was wondering if you wouldn’t mind sharing some advice on connecting with the young adult audience in your writing. I happen to be writing a book myself, and I’m hoping to have it turned in to an editor hopefully by summer. But I’m having difficulty figuring out how to write in a way that appeals to the young adult audience. Would you mind sharing some of your vast knowledge with a humble teen writer such as I? 🙂

Shadow, one of the trickiest things for a beginning writer is what is known as “voice.” This is the music of your writing that can only come from you. It’s what defines a book by JK Rowling vs. a book by Jeff Kinney vs. a book by John Green. What you are looking for is your writer’s voice – the thing that is uniquely you. This comes gradually as you continue writing and as you write the kind of stories you wish you could read. Once you’ve found your voice, you won’t have to worry about connecting with young adult readers. They will sense the authenticity of your writing and flock to you! So keep writing – you’ll find it!

Thanks so much! 😀 It has been a little hard to decide from who’s point of view I wanted to tell the story first, and I thought I had decided of first person through my main character but I ended up rewriting it all in thrived person limited. Your advice is so helpful! Thank you!

Mrs. Neilson,
Just want to say THANK YOU. Thank you so much.
I’m a big reader. I’ve read about 50 books this summer alone. But nothing I’ve read can rival the Ascendance series.
I loved it. Every word.
Never have I found a character as great as Jaron. His personality is amazing. Fantastic. And the humor….
I loved how you planned it, how everything worked and made sense. (Though I almost DIED when I read The Shadow Throne. Do you ENJOY tearing out the hearts of children who read your books? JK, it was awesome! But horrible… gah, poor Jaron… and Imogen…. and, oh, I should stop thinking about it. Too late, now I’m going to cry. Again.)
Whenever I read anything, I’m constantly thinking about how I would have done it differently. “That character is too flat” “The plot is uninteresting” “WHY is that sentence there? It has no purpose!” However, when I read that series, I was amazed. Everything was as it should be. Perfect. It fact, it was beyond perfect.
I almost never re-read books. But I could re-read this series a million times and still be as captivated as the first time!
Thank you so much for this amazing gift.
If I can ever write something half as good as the Ascendence Trilogy, I will be thrilled.
Thank you thank you thank you thank you!!!!!!!!!!
An adoring fan (and maybe eventual writer),
Ashley

Thanks very much, Ashley, and congrats on being such a great reader! I’m glad you’ve enjoyed these books – and while I don’t necessarily ENJOY tearing out reader’s hearts, I don’t exactly hate it either! 😉 I hope you will decide to write one day. If you are thinking about how you would have written a book differently, then you definitely have the mind of a writer.

I’m so glad to find a site with such an active community, granted the series had all but left my consciousness, returning with my sad closure of the Inheritance Cycle written by the incredibly eloquent Christopher Paolini, and was wondering if his work inspired you at all; or perhaps if you’d read it, as I feel it captured the olden grace of his work. I first read your beautiful first part of the Ascension trilogy in 2013 and am saddened to think I hadn’t fully tapped into such a beloved tale as yours. I am incredibly grateful and am sure as are your fans with such frequent responses, and admittedly hope to receive one myself
-greatest endeavors, Nicole Lightwood <3

I’m so excited to find this page! To be able to write to you makes me so happy! I read the Ascendence Triology for the first time 3 years ago when it came out, I was a 5th grader then and I thought it was a neat story. Then in sixth grade the following year I read it again, this time seeing lots of things I hadn’t before. Seventh grade I read it again, now falling in love with the really amazing characters you’ve created. And now here I am, 8th grade, reading this series yet again, noticing how amazing and beautiful your writing is. The depth you give your characters is astounding. Thank you so much for writing these amazing books! I wish I had the talent of an artist to make some art for you, but my words will do instead 🙂 if ever a movie does come out, you can be sure that myself and all of my friends who I insisted read this series will be sitting in the theater bawling our eyes out! I wish you the best of luck writing your new books, but I’m sure an author like you won’t need it!

Dear Jennifer
The false prince have to be my favorite book of all time. I really enjoyed reading it and waiting for the rest of the series. I was wondering if any news about the movie have came out yet

I’ve read the ascendance trilogy more times than i can count, because i absolutely fell in love with the books. However, each time i’ve always been bothered by not knowing how to pronounce imogen. But then i stumbled onto this, which is great-because now i can ask! Can you please help me out with the pronunciation of imogen?? Thanks!

I’ve wondered about the pronunciation of Roden in these books. When reading, I pronounced it Rod (like an iron rod)in (like in or out). Many other people said it was like Rodent, but without the “t.” How would you pronounce it?